Being an old git when I started playing equipment was quite unreliable so out of necessity and lack of repairers locally we learnt to repair and set up guitars ourselves and always have done. It strikes me these days that a lot of younger players are at a loss when it comes to anything other than playing their instruments.So if there is any advice I or anyone else can offer then let this be the thread for it.Most day to day repairs can be done on guitars yourself with a little care, I may start adding a Tip of the week if I remember to do it

I will start with a disclaimer you can never be too careful these days."Whilst these tips and advice have served me well over the years they may not be good for everyone. It is your responsibility to use any tools responsibly, especially sharp pointy ones and hot ones. any adjustments made are done so at your one risk so don't moan at me if you break it" Please feel free to add your own tips or versions of any I give, or even ask any questions I will help where I can, eg finding replacement better quality parts etc.I have seen a lot of bands that while they are great players sound pretty bad and are relying on a sales man to provide equipment they probably don't need or haven't a clue how to use PA a systems are the normal area of problem so ask away if you are not sure. there are too many people that will criticise behind your back or family and friends will tell you you sound good when your sound is pants but not so many people will say your a good band but you sound bad because..., seems to be a British thing this.. So any wisdom (b******s) I can pass on if it helps great.

Although we are Vintage guitar fans here the tips will apply to any brand but as Vintage are built to a budget price there are issues that could crop up. There is only so much time you can put into a guitar in manufacturing to keep it to a price the same goes with the hardware and I think Trevor Wilkinson has done an amazing job but the more we play the guitar the more likely something is to fail although my own V6 blackie "strat" has been gigged regularly for two and a half years without any major problems but should anything fail eg a volume pot then an upgrade to a better quality one is not dear if you buy from the rite place.

Here we go.. First simple tip.A common problem is the jack socket coming loose due to the constant insertion/removal and movement of the lead.Work on a table with some form of protection between it and the guitar, have a small pot on hand to put any screws and components in to avoid loss.To rectify. Remove the screws holding the jack plate to the body carefully remove the plate and socket loosen off the nut of the socket and apply some clear nail varnish or thread lock if you happen to have some to the thread of the socket carefully holding the socket tighten the nut using an appropriate spanner or very carefully with pliers. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN.. ensuring that there are no wires trapped refit the jack plate to the body. When dry the nail varnish will help prevent the nut coming loose due to vibration.

I have a Tele copy, decent little guitar and was my first a few years ago. Never bothered doing anything apart from changing the strings. Something which a guy of my ability found difficult

I recently took it to a "Guitar Technician" and asked him if he could lower the action as I found it a little to high further up the fret board. It came back with alot of fret buzz, only really noticable when its not plugged in. I did question this and he replyed saying its how a Tele should be ?!?! It sounds fine when plugged in, but I know its there and it bugs me.

Basically is he BS'ing me or is this the case with Tele's?

Also, I don't really want to fart about with the truss rod and messing with the bridge just in case I really bugger things up.

If he's set the action very low then you will get some fret buzz. This won't really come through the amp unless it's very bad and shouldn't cause any problems unless you want to play really clean jazz or something. If it bugs you then you could always raise the action a small amount at a time until you're happy.

Trouble with Teles is the Fretboard radius, if the action is too low the string will choke as you bend it to the center of the neck, an easy fix for a bit o buz to go up a gauge on your strings, this'll pull the neck a bit more giving a higher action, and more tension and even more tone. Most guitars come set up with 09 42 gauge, which always sound like a chicken being pulled through a cheese grater, 10 46 is generally a good happy medium between skin loss and tone, 10 56 is the ideal, you'll notice the change on the G mostly, as it goes from being a wallowing flap to a nice tight twang, a lot of the tele sound comes from the G string ringing above the nut, it does this sympathetically with the rest of the strings, a rubber band will kill this off if you don't like it... My Tele is set up a whole tone flat with seriously heavy gauge strings and it sings like nothin on earth... solo at 5:37 It also has Dimarzio area t pups, which are god like... hope that helps. PS you don't have to watch the Youtube thing...

The Angel Gabriel wrote: My Tele is set up a whole tone flat with seriously heavy gauge strings and it sings like nothin on earth... solo at 5:37 It also has Dimarzio area t pups, which are god like...

Judging from that solo those Dimarzios are very very Good But the skill in the fingers helps too Great Cover!

Cure Dry Fretboards Forever!Rosewood fret boards have a tendency to dry out, particularly in storage or on Guitar shop walls in extreme cases the board can crack…This inexpensive treatment will keep your fretboard in fantastic condition and looking great!.......With every new guitar and once every year I apply “woodwind bore oil”It is specifically designed to keep wood instruments naturally oiled it is cheap and a little goes a long way add a few drops to the fretboard rub in and leave it overnight and you will be amazed how good the board will look and feel……Everytime I change my strings I give the whole guitar and fretboard a go with this again you will be amazed how it brings your guitar back to its showroom finish…….http://www.ducksdeluxe.com/ddaxwax.htmlHeres how my Cheap Custom LP came up the rosewood was so dry and almost pink in colour………This treatment will make all your rosewood boards look like ebony!

Last edited by rev48 on Sat Jul 23, 2011 11:49 pm; edited 1 time in total

You have to be careful with oil as it can soften the wood around the fret tangs, oils are very searching and will penetrate under the fretwire, Frets need the wood to be stressed to stay in place and oil can quite simply, make the frets loose. So very very small amounts guys, plus dead skin from all that shredding can congeal in the grain and make the thing sound yeuk... Lemon oil is the most common or linseed.

The Angel Gabriel wrote:You have to be careful with oil as it can soften the wood around the fret tangs, oils are very searching and will penetrate under the fretwire, Frets need the wood to be stressed to stay in place and oil can quite simply, make the frets loose. So very very small amounts guys, plus dead skin from all that shredding can congeal in the grain and make the thing sound yeuk... Lemon oil is the most common or linseed.

I've just found an ebook version of Dan Erlewine's "Guitar player repair guide" he's a well respected tech and all round guitar expert. He says to AVOID Lemon oil and silicone products when cleaning any part of the guitar.

Hey guys, does anyone have any advice on setting the action on a strat style guitar (specifically the Vintage V6 Icon)? I took mine to the local luthier and sorted it out so it would play nicely without much buzz, and it does, but the action at the 12th fret (not pressing the string down) is about 2.3 or 2.4mm, which seems a bit high maybe?

here is an easy mod for your guitar if you like the tone of your p/ups but want more gain change the volume p/up to a higher resistance pot.Torres engineering.com told me about this .some humbuckers for whatever reasons use a 300k pot,should be a 500k pot byanyones standard. But....... to make that p/up scream use a 1 meg vol. pot.here is how it works the higher the resistance of the pot the less signal goes to ground thus more signal to the front of your amp.check out the other mods and custom amps on his site.what type of tone caps com in the icon lp? oh put a 500k pot in your strat you will love it.

Free mod.If you'd like to know what your guitar equiped with humbuckers would sound like with single coils,simply unscrew the six screws from the pickup.Instant single coil tones,without the hum,granted it's more of a P90 sound than Strat/Tele,but theres nothing wrong with that.If the Humbucker has two rows of screws,remove three from each,i.e,remove the three wound string screws closest to the bridge and leave the three plain string screws closest to the bridge to give a good fat Strat/Tele sound.If you do'nt like it,simply replace the screws.